LG announced the CineBeam Qube (model HU710PB) laser projector yesterday: It has a minimalist look and stature, weighing 3.28 pounds and measuring 135mm square on one side and just 80mm wide on the front. (For comparison, the iPhone 15 Pro is just 147mm tall.) It also has an unspecified number of HDMI eARC and USB-C ports, and a built-in 3W mono speaker. Surprisingly, LG says it can project an image up to 120 inches at full 4K resolution with a fairly standard 1.2 throw ratio. Oh, and it has a handle!
There are some apparent drawbacks to this little projector. For starters, it puts out a relatively dim 500 ANSI lumens (compared to the 2,200 ANSI lumens of the larger Xgimi Horizon Pro we reviewed two years ago). That means that even though LG says this projector supports HDR 10, it won't appear like brighter HDR TVs do outside of a very dark room. The Qube uses the company's webOS, which is fine on its own as an operating system, but lacks the diversity of Google TV or Apple's tvOS.
But none of that may matter if you just want something small and fancy that's superficially useful. It looks a bit like a cross between binomes from the 90s CGI cartoon ReBoot and the crank Bell & Howell 8mm chamber. that floated around my house growing up. And while I typically shy away from companies that describe their devices with terms like “stylish interior accessory,” I have to admit that the Qube catches my eye, as a person who's willing to forgive the flaws of quirky, boxy technology that has a handle. , like GameCube, for example. (Obviously, GameCube, being faultless, is just a convenient example here.)
LG hasn't announced a price or release date for the Qube, nor is it saying whether it will support features from other LG projectors like AirPlay 2, smart voice control, or really… anything about its capabilities outside of the basics. like those mentioned above.
